let's go rainy-day nostalgic again, shall we? ...yes!

... just the other day, i was feeling quite musical as i do whenever i'm alone and have got nothing to do. in the past, being the sneak that i am, i comb through my dad's vinyl LP collection (without him knowing). among the 100-or-something big ol' discs he's got: Santana, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and other rockin' groups that defined his generation. (i fondly remember singing "oye como va" and "stairway to heaven" even if i didn't know the words, as the LP played loudly in our turntable one new year's eve.) ... but let me not forget The Beatles as part of his repertoire. he's got tons of them! it was actually my pop who introduced me to their music and their ever-enduring influence. again, i reminisce "Abbey Road" playing on the car stereo on sunday trips so much that i know almost all their songs in that album by heart. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was genius, as i love "A Little Help From My Friends", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Getting Better".

an instance that led me to rediscover again the LPs last monday was when kazaa randomly played "So Far Away" by Carole King. to me, that song is so beautiful that even if you play it a million times i won't grow tired of it. it's like one of the best (love) songs in the universe! and so, inquisitive and incorrigible as i am, i trooped to dad's cabinet and scoured through those dusty big things to find "Tapestry", because i vaguely remembered seeing that before. "Tapestry" is King's 1971 album which was a big hit, considering there were a lot of great classics in it (posting the track list):

1. I Feel the Earth Move
2. It's Too Late
3. So Far Away
4. Home Again
5. Beautiful
6. Way Over Yonder
7. You've Got a Friend
8. Where You Lead
9. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
10. Smackwater Jack
11. Tapestry
12. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

of these, more than half of them are those i am familiar with and like (1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12.) "It's Too Late" (Grammy Record of the Year) was featured in the soundtrack of "The Lake House" and got me to like it sooo much again. i remember walking in the campus field with my college friends last march when some people were setting up for the graduates' baccalaureate mass and they test-played "You've Got a Friend" (Grammy Song of the Year) on the big speakers and i fell into a state of deep ponderance. carole's voice is so damn gorgeous and light and so earnest you just want to be so thankful to have friends. (honestly, this makes me teary! *sniff*) i am more exposed to the James Taylor version but this one rocked my socks. her music, her voice, her melody is so incredible it withstands anything... to think she wrote all these songs -- she means every one of them and connects them to every listener! it is therefore no wonder that "Tapestry" became one of the biggest-selling records of all time.

the only obstruction to my Musical Heaven was that i couldn't play it. our hi-fi component of 20+ years died 2 years ago, and our new one doesn't have the "phonograph" function, that's why i couldn't connect my surviving turntable anywhere to listen to it. right now, i am only content with reading the lyrics found at the back of the LP and 'try' to sing them. what a sad fate. :( as the only Carole King song around in my player is still "So Far Away", i'm thinking of downloading her other stuff.

but i won't be satisfied with mp3s hanging around my PC. (my drive's not CD-R.) i implore YOU -- anybody, somebody! give me a copy of "Tapestry"! (i wonder if they still sell 'classics' though.) even if it's pirated -- just please, not the karaoke version! @_@ if you do, i will tell the gods your name and you shall have eternal glory and happiness! ha ha! :D

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(caution: crappily pathetic fangirling ahead. stop reading while you can! ;p )

i JUST have to get this tiny little tidbit off my system:



the biggest reason why i'm terribly missing the World Cup is Zinedine Zidane.

even if if it ended only 2 weeks ago, it feels like it's been ages and that's awful. even if i only started watching football this year, it feels like i've loved this sport for years! even i know little of anything, for the life of me i'm strangely attached to them. even if france lost, my head's still up in the clouds, thinking they didn't really lose. even if zidane had an unceremonial exit to his glorious saga, it doesn't feel so bad... well, that got me all the more fascinated about this silly man. :)

it's funny how being exposed to a person frequently (like catching zizou most of the time on tv -- games, interviews, etc -- coincidentally AND unconciously) can make you drawn to him. funnier, even, is how you're starting to like the person just when you won't get to see the guy anymore (zizou saying goodbye and off to retirement). it's f*cking mad, life playing cruel tricks on me. (this is NOT an isolated case -- i've been through this... *ha*)

anyways. i'm letting this 'craze faze' pass, i know i've got a short attention span... but i guess this serves as some kind of tribute to perhaps the greatest player of his generation.

zizou, vous etes avez aime. je vous souhaite le meilleur!

**(which -- according to babelfish, of course! -- roughly translates to: "zizou, you are loved. i wish you the best!" *whee* my pic is a collage of livejournal userpics that i looove from zidanefans, give 'em credit. :p)

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tres magnifique! you're gazing at my newest piece de resistance, version 6 that i aptly christen Audrey ♥ Burberry because i simply love two things: 1) the classic burberry pattern, and that 2) i shamelessly adore the beautiful french actress audrey tautou ~~ i combined them both to make this layout golden/khaki-inspired. (well, come to think of it, it looks like my uniform! *blah*) ... i think this makes for a good classic look, audrey being a timeless beauty (to moi... she looks kinda like the other lovely audrey -- hepburn, that is. *starstricken*), and the shades radiating an elegant, sophisticated feel. now that i'm feeling oh-so-royal, shoot me! ;p

crediting the main picture i've snipped off The Audrey Tautou Fansite to Kate Black, who photographed our fair lady, lest i want to get myself jailed for copyright infringement. but well, if pictures are out on the net, then it's ok to use them, right? :) ... btw, the total process of making this 'skin' took me quite a short period compared to the other ones (i sure know what i want). so if you have any comments, let me hear it! ;) ... this layout change might as well be a sort-of rejuvenation of my journal as i launch into total sophomore mode. i wish for a lot of things to happen this year, and pray they do. i wanna help myself!

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what the hell has my head been up to?!

for starters, my engine isn't revving up that well. my first quizzes have been a mix of good and awfully bad. accounting & statistics is a hassle for LPU people like me, but we'll get through that. don't forget to bring the calculator! =p

with the chilly weather abound, i'm still in a state of drug-induced indifference because of cough & colds. (my flu shot probably just expired.) and i hate waking up on deliciously cold mornings!

the latest movie i watched (since the schoolyear started) was "Superman Returns". i think i was laughing half of the time because of the guy's antics of "saving the world"! i don't know, i guess because it's predictable. and the Jesus-Superman parallelisms! (Time Magazine said that the film should be retitled "Jesus Christ Superman"... or "The Passion of the Clark"?!) holy baloney! ;)

i don't know whether to call our nstp online program a boon or a bane. it's convenient, yes, but i have to spend a little more time (sacrifice my lunch too) in school on some days because i have to "obtain" (copy) our modular lectures in the library -- since the dial-up at home is so cranky, the page runs slooowwww. and the tests are only available on weekends! i don't feel like staying on the library on weekends! (hello? where's quality time?!) i better work this out.

FIFA World Cup '06 aftermath: the Azzurris won... sorry Les Bleus! how i wish it was the other way around, but Zizou blew it away (i forgive the guy though). in my opinion, it didn't feel like a final game at all. penalty shootouts?! (the Germany-Portugal match was much more exciting!) still, arrgh. i have nothing to look forward to anymore. =( ... 'til 2010!

and: i've got a new skin! it's coming up soon! i bet you, it's glamorous =)

**on edit: i tried logging in the nstp server from my home and it's not that bad. yay! only need to install the damn Flash (problem is, my CD drive's cranky again.

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dimanche, juillet 02, 2006 Y 7:15 PM

goin' fever pitch

just a quick one: i'm swamped with homework. got 2 quizzes per day this week, and jeez my brain's not working! i pity myself. the damn question "am i really made for this???" pops in my head every time i can't work something out. needless to say i'm banging my head, while all the others (my classmates) are happily worming their way. sh*t. heaven help me!!!

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today, the merry second day of juillet, was my first introduction to the globally amazing FIFA World Cup '06 (happens every four years, now held in Germany)... frankly i am very ignorant of the whole futbol thing even if the world media's been cryin' about it since juin 9. but anyways, i got to watch my first-ever match this morning, Brazil versus France, when i was mindlessly channel-surfing. my dad, probably the more-informed one of the house (trivia: he was a football player back in his high school days! ;D ), took on the side of Ronaldo & Ronaldinho while i was stuck with the frenchies (which i don't mind at all... being a francophile *hee*) ... funny how it's life and death to the players & fans, when hitting a goal is so damn hard! you spend almost 2 hours with a 0-0 score! imagine my awe when france finally hit a goal... (even if we've got a boxing match in our backyard, i was gazing over the green field! *evil*) ... and so after blocks, kicks, and yellow cards, France won after about approximately 93 minutes, 1-0. in retrospect, the french almost got the goals (3?), except the brazilian goalkeeper expertly blocked the ball, much to the guys' & the spectators' dismay. Brazil was good too, but anyhoo.. better luck next time. i'm for france, because of the crazy bet (Zinedine Zidane -- eetz za cute name! ;p) if only i'll be lucky enough to catch the next show.

*on edit: it's France vs Portugal; and Germany vs Italy for the semifinals this week. the victorious will then square off in the ultimate Final Round.

**will get myself a FIFA crash course via the net these days**

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